High caloric intake has been associated with various concerns, such as weight gain, leading to health problems. As consumers become more health and weight conscious, the calorie contents of foods are increasingly becoming a significant consideration. Food manufacturers have marketed wellness foods with lower calorie contents to attract health and weight conscious consumers. A significant market now exists for low-calorie foods.
However, low-calorie foods tend to lack flavor due to low sugar content or low perceived sweetness. Manufacturers have tried to counter this problem by adding high amounts of unnatural sugar substitutes and flavorings to make the food taste more like natural products. For example, low-calorie orange juice is produced by diluting reduced sugar orange juice and adding large quantities of artificial sweeteners, coloring and flavorings to make it resemble natural orange juice. However, such artificial ingredients produce an off-taste or lingering bitter aftertaste. Furthermore, certain artificial ingredients are believed to cause serious health problems and hence are not well-received by consumers. This is particularly true with low-calorie beverages.
From the foregoing discussion, it is desirable to provide a natural, reduced-calorie beverage without the negative characteristics of conventional low-calorie beverages.